On Monday night, the people who fought the St. Vincent College fire a half a century ago received an honor they can't believe.

Fifty years ago on Monday, hundreds of men from 31 fire departments battled the blaze at St. Vincent College, giving their all and fighting with their hearts.

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Courage shown 50 years ago still stands strong today after St. Vincent College nearly burned to the ground.

For many firefighters, their memories of long-ago fires battled begin to blur. But not this one. Not back then, and not now.

"It was cold, that's right water ... was ice," said Fire Chief Earl Dalton, who was a kid at the time of the fire.

"Four hundred firemen that came from Westmoreland County saved St. Vincent," said St. Vincent historian Jerome Oetgen. "As much as we lost, they saved it for the future for us."

Monday night, Dalton and Chief Ed Hutchinson got the applause and the hardware representing the thanks of a grateful community. To say they saved St. Vincent is no understatement, but the ceremony also honored the men who were part of the responding departments from Jeannette, Youngwood, Grapeville, Latrobe and 27 other companies.

The men who saved the school said they were merely doing their job. They are men who say they would do it all over again in a heartbeat.